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RED CARPET JEWELRY

Katel Riou for Cartier photo

Diamond, sapphire, rubellite and emerald bee ring, $50,700, is on exhibit at Cartier Toronto

Cartier in Toronto

An exhibit of high jewelry marks the opening of new Cartier boutique

Frederic de Narp has advice for anyone contemplating a supersized diamond.

“Anything more than 40 to 50 carats, should not be worn on the finger, it should be worn at the neck,” declares the president and CEO of Cartier North America.

De Narp’s counsel comes as I am staring into a blazing 23 carat canary diamond ring at Cartier’s new Toronto flagship. Located at 131 Bloor St. W. along the city’s “mink mile” shopping strip, the store has 80 per cent more space than the old location across the street. An expansive marble façade is topped by a second story of etched-glass streaked with gold, as if it has been clawed by one of Cartier’s legendary panthers.

Better still, the selection of offerings has doubled, with watches, jewelry, engagement rings and accessories elegantly housed in their own areas.

New collections include the Love bangles with a rainbow of coloured stones and Trinity rings, bangles and earrings studded with diamond stars to mark Cartier’s 100 years in America.

To celebrate the opening, the store has a trunk show of Haute Joaillerie until April 20, 2009.

There are jewelled insects from the Cirque Animalier collection, and regal pieces from Indes Mysterieuse including a diamond dragonfly on a chalcedony charm.

Things get even more extravagant in the watch cases where Roadsters and Pashas are completely covered in diamonds.

For women, the Cartier Libre collection includes timepieces inspired by haute couture. One style has a trompe l’oeil dress bow seemingly tied around the dial. Another is called Assymetrique and has a slanted dial that looks as if it has been twisted out of shape. They are priced in the $50,000 range.

No wonder extra lengths have been employed to ensure the store is secure. A temporary location was hit by armed robbery last year. All four gunmen were caught, perhaps in part due to the fact that every Cartier piece is numbered. “Stolen Cartier is not that easy to sell because it can easily be traced back,” de Narp warns.